Artist. Best known as the creator of the Joker, the archnemesis of DC Comics' Batman. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Robinson was a young student at Columbia University in 1939, the year he was hired by comic book writer Bob Kane. He worked under Kane as a letterer and inker. Shortly before he had been hired, Kane and writer Bill Finger developed the costumed Batman character for DC Comics' predecessor, National Comics. Robinson is credited with devising the name of Batman's famous sidekick, Robin, the archetypal sidekick. The "Boy Wonder", whose name was derived from the legendary Robin Hood, made his debut in "Detective Comics" #38. Shortly after, the now iconic villain known as "The Joker" appeared issue #1 of "Batman" (Spring 1940).Though Batman creator Bob Kane stated that Robinson only came to him with a joker playing card and that Bill Finger and himself created the villain, Robinson is popularly credited as the true creator. He also contributed significantly to the development of several other members of the Batman family, including Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, and the notorious Two Face. Later on in his career, he worked on the newspaper strip "True Classroom Flubs and Fluffs", as well as the political satire strip "Still Life". Robinson was the president of the National Cartoonists Society from 1967 to 1969 and later the head of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. In the 1970's, he was an ardent supporter of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in their crusade to gain full recognition and compensation for creating Superman. He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2004, seven years before he died in Staten Island at the age of eighty-nine.
Artist. Best known as the creator of the Joker, the archnemesis of DC Comics' Batman. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Robinson was a young student at Columbia University in 1939, the year he was hired by comic book writer Bob Kane. He worked under Kane as a letterer and inker. Shortly before he had been hired, Kane and writer Bill Finger developed the costumed Batman character for DC Comics' predecessor, National Comics. Robinson is credited with devising the name of Batman's famous sidekick, Robin, the archetypal sidekick. The "Boy Wonder", whose name was derived from the legendary Robin Hood, made his debut in "Detective Comics" #38. Shortly after, the now iconic villain known as "The Joker" appeared issue #1 of "Batman" (Spring 1940).Though Batman creator Bob Kane stated that Robinson only came to him with a joker playing card and that Bill Finger and himself created the villain, Robinson is popularly credited as the true creator. He also contributed significantly to the development of several other members of the Batman family, including Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, and the notorious Two Face. Later on in his career, he worked on the newspaper strip "True Classroom Flubs and Fluffs", as well as the political satire strip "Still Life". Robinson was the president of the National Cartoonists Society from 1967 to 1969 and later the head of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. In the 1970's, he was an ardent supporter of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in their crusade to gain full recognition and compensation for creating Superman. He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2004, seven years before he died in Staten Island at the age of eighty-nine.
Bio by: Kurt's Historic Sites
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